The Streisand Effect

Streisand effect : I didn’t know this had a name. The name, of course, comes from Barbara Steisand’s attempt to censor aerial views of her Malibu home.

The Streisand effect is an Internet phenomenon where an attempt to censor or remove a piece of information backfires, causing the information to be widely publicized. Examples of such attempts include censoring a photograph, a number, a file, or a website (for example via a cease-and-desist letter). Instead of being suppressed, the information receives extensive publicity, often being widely mirrored across the Internet, or distributed on file-sharing networks.

I’m finding a lot of really interesting Wikipedia articles (this one included) from the Best of Wikipedia blog. Really great stuff.

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